Battle of Big Bethel

The Battle of Big Bethel was fought near Newport News, Virginia on 10 June 1861 during the American Civil War.

On 23 May 1861, following Virginia's secession from the Union, Confederate colonel John B. Magruder was sent southeast from Richmond to block any attempt by the Union forces at Fort Monroe in Hampton to advance on the new Confederate capital. Magruder established two camps, at Big Bethel and Little Bethel, to lure the Union garrison under Benjamin F. Butler into battle. On 10 June, Butler's Union army launched a dawn attack on the Confederates, but Butler left his poorly-trained subordinates to execute his complex plan by themselves, and he chose not to lead the attack himself. A friendly fire incident gave away the Union positions, and the ensuing disaster saw the Union suffer 76 casualties, including John Trout Greble, the first regular army officer killed in the war. Magruder subsequently withdrew to Yorktown and his defensive line along the Warwick River, and the Union forces would not attempt another advance until the Peninsula Campaign a year later.